The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 18, 2024

Cameo: Julio-Claudian Imperial Portrait

Cameo: Julio-Claudian Imperial Portrait

30 BCE–54 CE
travertine
Overall: 4.6 x 6.4 cm (1 13/16 x 2 1/2 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1991.154
Location: 103 Roman

Did You Know?

The Julio-Claudian family included the first five emperors of Rome: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero.

Description

This fragment of a cameo depicts a man wearing a laurel crown and facing right. Roman cameo gems were made by carving through layers of banded semiprecious stones to create an image, here a portrait in off-white with a tan background. Scholars have identified this portrait as various members of the Julio-Claudian imperial family based on the laurel crown and style of the portrait.

The close-cropped wavy hair, thinly arched brow, aquiline nose, and rounded chin are similar to depictions of many Julio-Claudian princes and emperors who can only be differentiated by inscriptions. The imperial family was represented with very similar features to support a unified dynastic image.
  • Safani Gallery (New York, N.Y.). The Art of Rome: An Exhibition of Sculpture, Wall Paintings, Bronzes, Jewelry, and Glasses of the Roman Period, Dec. 2, 1983-Jan. 14, 1984. Safani Gallery, New York, N.Y. 1983. Mentioned and reproduced p. 15
    Hausmann, Ulrich. "Bemerkungen zum "Dritten" Portrat-Typus des Tiberius" in Numismatica e antichità classiche, Quaderni ticinesi, Vol. 14.1985. p. 211-225. Mentioned p. 224, reproduced pl IV, no. 4
    Henig, Martin. The Content Family Collection of Ancient Cameos. Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. 1990. Ref. p. 108
    Platz-Horster, Gertrud. Nil und Euthenia: der Kalzitkameo im Antikenmuseum Berlin. Berlin: W. de Gruyter, 1992. pp. 8-9, fig. 5.
    Turner, Evan H. "Selected 1991 Acquisitions." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 79, no. 2 (1992): 63-83. Reproduced: p. 66; Mentioned: p. 76 www.jstor.org
    Hausmann, Ulrich. "Überlegungen zum Germanicus-Porträt" in Mitteilungen Des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Römische Abteilung. Mainz am Rhein: Philipp von Zabern, Vol. 103. 1996. p.139-164. Reproduced Plate 42, fig 4. Mentioned p. 149.
    DeSilva, David A. An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods & Ministry Formation. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2004. Cover image and p. 57, fig. 2.4.
  • {{cite web|title=Cameo: Julio-Claudian Imperial Portrait|url=false|author=|year=30 BCE–54 CE|access-date=18 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1991.154